This invention is related in general to message broadcast systems. More specifically, it is related to a system for the selective activation of individual speakers in a broadcast audio communications system.
Noise in the workplace is not a new problem, but one that is getting increased attention as work configurations and business operating models evolve. A number of recent studies indicate that noise in the form of conversational distractions is the single largest negative influence on workers' productivity. Additionally, announcement broadcasts from overhead sound systems are primary distractions, as attention is naturally drawn to these messages. This disruption in the normal workflow creates inefficiencies in people's productivity, and it degrades the overall quality of the workplace environment.
The negative effects of noise are influencing larger groups of people. As the service sector of the economy continues to grow, an increasing number of workers find themselves in office settings rather than manufacturing facilities. The need for flexible reconfigurable space has resulted in open-plan workspaces, larger rooms with reduced heights, and movable partitions over which sound can pass. The density of the office workplace is also increasing with more workers occupying a given physical space. More workers are using speakerphones along with conferencing technologies and multimedia computers with large, sound reflecting screens and voice input. All these factors have contributed to the dramatic increase in the noise level of the work place. As a result, the loudness of the paging systems and overhead sound systems has increased in order for the broadcast to be heard above the increasing ambient noise.
A major drawback of the current paging system used in most schools and businesses is the inability to confine the audio messages only to the space occupied by the intended recipient. As a simple example, consider a small business office environment having three rooms separated by partitions or walls. Each wall blocks the sound from reaching into an adjacent room. Each room is equipped with an individual speaker, which is connected to a broadcast audio power unit. Audio messages are typically maintained in a central location and sent to a broadcast power unit, which in turn drives speakers in each room. Further, consider that room 1 is empty and rooms 2 and 3 have occupants. The occupants in rooms 2 and 3 are subject to the same announcement driven by the speaker system, which is integrated into the overhead ceiling tiles, even though the announcement may only be intended for the occupants in room 2. Power used to broadcast the message into room 1 is unnecessarily wasted, since this room is unoccupied.
This mode of messaging is disruptive, inefficient, and outdated. What is needed in today's workplace environment is a message broadcast system that does not broadcast messages to all speakers simultaneously, but does drive selectively only the speaker that is nearest to the intended recipient.